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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Equaliser pipe or not?


TLicense

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It's been suggested to me that I should have an equaliser pipe between the front and rear manifolds of my turbo kit. The HKS kit has them but the Blitz doesn't.

What are your views chaps?

Here's a few pics of the manifolds, particularly of the "collector" area where the pipe would be welded in:-

 

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Any suggestions/opinions? I'll be pleased to hear them.

 

Cheers,

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Think Turbo shuffle is basically down to the size/design of turbo's and what boost pressure your running. The GTR boys running HKS GT series Turbos get a lot of turbo shuffle, and with no equaliser pipe the Engine shakes on boost. But again, this maybe down to how the turbos behave under boosting - i.e. Design, maybe the Blitz dont cause such problems??

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I would only from a safety point of view. Do you trust both gates to open at the exact same time and if one gates fails at least with a balance tube the other gate could potentialy stop run away boost of one of the turbos. :)

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It's been suggested to me that I should have an equaliser pipe between the front and rear manifolds of my turbo kit. The HKS kit has them but the Blitz doesn't.

What are your views chaps?

Correct, if it were my engine, I wouldn't trust them to run well forever without an equaliser pipe.

If the engine has been freshly built then it is less of an issue (assuming new wastegate springs behaving in an identical fashion), but if compression test shows +/- 1bar among cylinders, then I'd treat that as a warning sign.

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Try it and see if they balance well without, but if you get reversion you will need a balance pipe, or to play with turbo sizings. You need to support the turbos a lot better than just hangiing them off the manifolds, and if you DO add a balance pipe it needs to be a flexible bellows, to allow expansion and contraction, as it will run at a very different temp to the manifold runners. The wastegates will need supporting, too. Otherwise the whole set up WILL crack.

 

I can assist with a supply of suitable flexible bellows if required.

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Many thanks Chris but it's all in hand.

Have got GDS Engineering on the case, I just need to tell them whether to go with the equaliser pipe or not.

To be honest I think I will. I can't see a downside other than a bit more cost (water off a ducks back at this point!)

I've got them manufacturing a couple of braces that will support the manifold and bolt to the stock brace location. I'm trying to get them the exact material that the manifold is made from (I think it's 304) so that the brace can be made from the same to try and prevent I'm also getting them to slot the fixings (it's going to be studded to the manifold) to allow some movement as things move when they get warm. Basically trying to cover all the angles, so to speak.

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LOL, unfortunately there's no chance mate, no where near enough space to come over the downpipe of the front turbo to support the second. It would end up either being supported off the cam cover, or the structure itself would have so many joins that it wouldn't be worth naff all anyway. Could possibly support the front from above but that's all.

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ive no mission either on one of the singles, the hotside sits an 1/2 inch above the cam covers, the only way i seen round the problem was running the support from the t4 flange rather than the turbo itself.

 

That would work OK. Try and balance the thing so it's supported around its C of G if it's possible. You are just trying to keep the weight off the red hot manifold. All these tubular things seem OK on ultra low mileage road cars, and for a few seconds a few times a day down the drag strip, but give them rice for 30 minutes at a time around a circuit and they then show their design and material deficiencies. Look at the hassle Porsche have gone to with the 944 turbo, and the rear engine tubo jobbies to stop manifold cracking, and even they with their resources have not been 100% successful.

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